Don't let the smile fool you, Bobby V is no joker. |
Bobby Valentine is in no way, shape, or form a BSer. When he says it's "his team," he absolutely, positively, means it. That's why he was able to maximize the talents of Edgardo Alfonzo, Roger Cedeno and Benny Agbayani, guys who left Bobby Valentine's reigns and literally fell of the face of the planet. It's Bobby's way or the highway. He wanted guys to play ball like it was their final day and for some, like Ricky Henderson and Orel Hershiser, it actually was their last MLB seasons. Valentine didn't fear the star, as he sat the highly overpaid Bobby Bonilla harder than Matt Leinart's career. He was a fiery coach both in the press room, in the locker room and on the field. Don't let that constant smile fool you, Valentine could get his Bobby Knight on, and did so often. Valentine certainly got the positive attention of his players during those years. His old school ways, really hit home in New York, and his era will forever be remembered as a positive one in Mets' fans eyes. Yet, his desire to control every baseball aspect in the Mets clubhouse and front office led to his ultimate dismissal in 2002.
After a long tenure over in Japanese "la-la" land with the Chiba Lotte Mariners, Valentine returned to the states for a nice little run as a ESPN baseball analyst. Bobby V had expressed his desire to return to the MLB ranks, but teams were hesitant because of his ugly departure from the Mets. Finally a week ago, the Boston Red Sox with new GM Ben Cherington at the helm, decided to go a completely different direction from the Epstein years by hiring Valentine.
Last season ended absolutely disastrously for the Boston Red Sox, and things got even worse in the offseason with several allegations that the Red Sox players were getting obliterated during games and, like freshmen in college, ordering Dominoes to the clubhouse. This led to an obvious Boston PR move when they simply overhauled the entire clubhouse. Whether these allegations are true or not doesn't matter though, Bobby V will put an end to that immediately.
With that being said, things could go two ways for the Sox. They could grow up and accept Bobby V's "No Bullshit" policy. Imagine what Valentine could with all that talent? The former Mets skipper got the '99 Mets to bat .279 with a lineup that resembled a combination of a retirement home and a Puerto Rican Winter League team. Think about how he could maximize a lineup with the likes of Ellsbury, Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Big Papi and Youk? I'm talking a .300 team average. Yes, a .300 team batting average. What about the pitching staff? Well he'll get Josh Beckett out of the woods in Tennessee and back into '03 form. He'll get John Lackey to start hitting spots and not batters. Yep, Jon Lester will be thinking about a Cy Young. Valentine will teach his rotation and bullpen to battle and pitch their way through the same jams that contributed nicely to last September's meltdown. Really, the possibilities are endless with Bobby V at the helm, that is of course, if they accept his philosophy.
If the Boston Red Sox don't buy into the new skipper's philosophy, we'll be looking at World War 3. The players will hate Valentine for not letting them get destroyed in the clubhouse. Valentine will hate the front office for giving them such soft-minded players. The fans will hate Valentine, well because, the Sox will suck. Fenway Park will be a war zone. You might as well call the Cask'n'Flagon "Bastogne" on weekday nights. Governor Patrick will have to declare the City of Boston in a "State of Emergency." No lie, it will be that bad. It will take years for the Red Sox to get over a disastrous Valentine tenure.
I've got a good faith in these Red Sox players, like Youk and Ellsbury to really embrace Valentine, but I also worry the Carl Crawford and Josh Beckett might have serious beef with Bobby's philosophy. Let's hope for the sake of Boston's economy and society that the Sox follow their iron fist, and actually make the playoffs.
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